Afghans Worry Bagram Could Turn Into Guantánamo

New York, NY - On June 4, 2012, National Public Radio (NPR) reported on the growing alarm among Afghans over the unlawful implementation of an administrative detention regime by the Afghan government patterned on US detention operations commonly associated with Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

What is far less commonly known is that the US has been indefinitely detaining prisoners without charge or trial since 2002 in Afghanistan. Today at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, the US has approximately 3,100+ Afghan prisoners and 50+ non-Afghan prisoners in its sole custody.

As reported by NPR, however, a politically motivated deal was recently struck between the US and Afghan governments through which the US will purportedly transfer its detention operations to Afghan custody by September. Nevertheless, it appears the US will continue to exercise de facto control over any prisoners it transfers into the Afghan administrative detention regime.

Since 2006 the International Justice Network (IJN) has been advocating for the legal rights of Bagram prisoners. You can learn about the recent efforts of IJN and its allies to expose the dangers of Afghan administrative detention here. You can read about the litigation brought by IJN and co-counsel on behalf of Bagram prisoners here. And information about the individual Bagram prisoners whom IJN represents is available here.